Chapter 1419 - 1184: Staged Ambushes (2)

However, when the convoy came to a complete stop and planned to encircle according to Eddie's orders, the attackers' gunfire ceased.

Suddenly, it just stopped.

"Hmm?"

The terrifying silence and dark night made Eddie sitting in the car feel a tremor and uneasy.

"Vanguard Team! What's going on!? The gunfire stopped?"

He picked up the radio transmitter and issued an inquiry.

After a dozen seconds of silence, the leader of the Vanguard Team finally responded.

"Chief, the attackers have fled!"

"Fled!? What did you say? Fled?!"

Eddie could hardly believe his ears.

Such a brief engagement?!

What's happening?!

"Did anyone see the attackers?!"

"Report to Chief, they really fled, I saw their car! They're retreating south! Should we pursue or not?!"

"South?!"

A map of Illiguo's Northwest Region immediately appeared in Eddie's mind.

"They're trying to divert us! Ignore them!"

Eddie felt very confident.

He thought this was just a petty trick.

A sudden quick raid followed by a retreat.

And then letting oneself chase?!

South?!

Mosul is to the east right now!

These self-righteous heretics!

He cursed inwardly through gritted teeth, but outwardly he issued what he considered the most rational and correct order: "Ignore them, immediately regroup the convoy, continue to advance towards Mosul at the fastest speed! They are deliberately delaying our time!"

The convoy began to slowly regroup.

Because of the many scattered vehicles earlier, regrouping took time.

A full five thousand troops, more than two hundred various vehicles, exploded like an anthill when stepped on, now needed time to regroup.

A full half hour later, the convoy returned to normal, all back on the highway.

"Depart! There's no time to waste!"

Eddie was anxious.

He glanced at the gold watch on his wrist—looted from the corpse of a senior officer in the Illiguo Government Army.

The time pointed to one in the morning.

No matter the speed, Mosul is still over a hundred kilometers away.

At this rate, not even daylight would make it to Mosul.

Even if he arrived then, the bodies in the city would probably have gone cold.

The convoy roared again, raising a yellow dust dragon, advancing towards Mosul direction at the fastest speed.

Upon passing the previous ambush spot, Eddie saw the overturned BPM-1 armored vehicle outside the car, and dozens of scattered corpses lying around.

The equipment on the corpses had been taken, but there was simply no time to collect the bodies right now.

Leave them for now!

He thought.

Those damned heretics!

Once he takes back Mosul, he would sweep across all regions, killing all heretics in Nineveh Province!

Ten minutes later, the convoy entered the 7th Highway 3221 marker point.

Only a few kilometers from the previous ambush spot.

This was a sharp bend carved along the mountain terrain, where the highway was forced into a nearly 90-degree turn, the inside being steep rock walls, the outside a deep dried riverbed.

As the convoy cautiously drove into the bend, most vehicles were still jammed at the bend entrance——

"Detonate!"

In a well-camouflaged observation point about 300 meters across the riverbed, the militia responsible for this segment of engagement pressed down hard on the detonator.

BOOM!!!

BOOM!!!!

This time, it wasn't mines.

It was the most common Illiguo and familiar to the 1515 Armed—IED.

Two deafening explosions almost simultaneously went off!

This time it wasn't a single blast but a preset cluster remotely detonated.

Several old gas cylinders filled with TNT and steel rods, together with linked 152mm howitzer shells, were ingeniously buried under the rock wall at the bend and roadside.

The explosive shockwave viciously struck those vehicles and personnel lowering speed and crowded at the bend.

Two armed pickups full of soldiers bore the brunt, one was directly flipped by a huge blast wave, rolling half a circle in the air before crashing heavily onto the road, fuel tank ruptured, instantly catching a raging fire.

"Ah—Ah—Ah—"

The soldiers inside, who couldn't escape in time, let out piercing screams.

The other was riddled by dense prefabricated shrapnel, all the glass windows shattered, soldiers inside either dead or injured, blood instantly painted the cabin red.

The debris and dust raised by explosions fell like a torrential downpour, sticking to the windshields of following vehicles.

Panic spread like a plague throughout the convoy.

The wails of the wounded, the officers' shouts, engine roars, crackling from burning vehicles mixed together, forming a hellish scene.

"Bypass the burning vehicles! Do not stop! Accelerate through! Attack the convoy, immediately find those damned bugs, kill them for me!"

In the command vehicle, Eddie looked at the towering smoke and flames ahead, listened to the casualty reports coming from the radio, even though his heart ached he could only harden his heart and continue giving orders.

This is a bend, if not getting out everyone is jammed here, later on, would suffer more deaths!

However, it's all in vain.

His commands were flawless.

But just like last time, the gunfire quickly settled, disappeared…

The enemy once again merged with the night, vanished into the darkness.

Gone…

Ten minutes later, Eddie stood at the attacked bend, the pungent smell of blood made this terrorist leader, who had beheaded countless, furrow his brows, couldn't help but rub his nose.

Just now a round of explosions and strafes, five pickups and a truck were written off.

Death count…

On that truck alone packed over thirty.

"Damn it!"

He angrily lifted his foot wanting to kick something to vent his anger.

But when he saw clearly what was under his feet, he instinctively drew back his foot…

Because it was his subordinate's head…

A head blown off.

No longer recognizable, only charred, and flesh.

"Chief."

A nearby sub-leader cautiously asked, "Should we split forces to pursue those enemies? If we don't pursue…"

He swallowed a mouthful, moistened his somewhat dry throat.

"I'm afraid they might set more ambush points next time, nibbling away at us slowly, no matter how many we have, can't withstand…"

Eddie glared angrily at that leader, thinking, like you know? Like you're smart! Don't I know?!

But he didn't say it out loud.

After all, this kind of reaction from subordinates was normal.

The 1515's night vision gear was rather mediocre, relying mostly on old Russian night vision devices or a few second-generation night vision equipment the US Army provided to the Illiguo Government Army.

Now the opponent is exploiting this weakness.

All attacks are launched at distances over 300 meters.

These old night vision devices can't quite manage beyond 300 meters.

It seems the opponent's night vision equipment is more advanced and taking a segmented approach to engagement.

This means along this remaining hundred kilometers, who knows how many more such ambush points…

Just thinking of this gives him headaches.

What to do?!

Just then, the communicator ran to his side, whispered, "Chief, Caliph is on the channel."

Upon hearing this, Eddie quickly turned back to his command vehicle, grabbed the radio headset.

"Respected Caliph, do you have any instructions?"

"Where are you now?"

Buckdadi's voice came over from the other end of the radio waves.

"Caliph, we are now about a hundred kilometers from Mosul."

"A hundred kilometers? An hour has passed, and you've only gone a dozen kilometers?!"

Buckdadi's tone was filled with dissatisfaction.

"Eddie, what are you doing?!"

Eddie could only steel himself to answer, "Caliph, we've been ambushed twice, I think the attack on Mosul is bait, knowing we would certainly come to aid, setting ambush points along the way…"

"I don't care! I won't listen to excuses!"

Buckdadi interrupted Eddie very rudely.

"I only want results! I only want Mosul! If you can't take back Mosul by 5 AM, leading to a collapse of my layout in Illiguo's Northwest Region, then you might as well die and apologize to Allah yourself!"